Redevelopment Project Resumed in Yongsan District-4

Yongsan District-4 refers to a 53,066㎡ (13 acres) area at 63-70 Hangang-ro 3 ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Redevelopments were halted in 2009, when protests against the relocation of residents resulted in the deaths of five residents and a police officer deployed to maintain order. Recently, however, an amended version of the redevelopment project has passed the deliberation stage. Construction is scheduled to begin in October 2016 and be completed by June 2020.

The project involves the construction of four multi-purpose apartment buildings, a business building, public facilities, and a park. The space occupying about 21% of the first floor of the multi-purpose apartment buildings will be designed as public pedestrian paths, thus opening the park and the inside of the complex to outsiders. It is a rare welcome gesture made in a country where people place great importance on private property.

A lounge, recreation, and commercial space sized about 60,000㎥ (15 acres) will be provided near the public pedestrian paths. It is expected that such a layout will go a long way to increase the pedestrian traffic and invigorate commercial activities in the neighborhood.

The neighborhood park will be turned into a large theme park, about 1.3 times the size of the Gwanghwamun Square and the Seoul Square combined (32,000㎡).

It seems that finally, with the normalization of the long-stalled Yongsan District-4 Project, what was agreed to between the SMG and local residents will start to be implemented. We at the SMG will discuss project details with the bereaved families in a way that will make the area a place of reconciliation.